Maiden Flydubai direct flight lands in Mombasa

The inaugural Flydubai direct flight touched down at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa on Wednesday to a colourful reception.

The plane was sprayed with water after landing in keeping with a long-held tradition of welcoming planes with water salute after a long-haul flight.  

Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen received the plane after the 5-hour 25-minute flight.

"Arrived at the Moi International Airport to receive the inaugural flyDubai direct flight from Dubai to Mombasa," the CS said on X.

Flydubai, the Dubai-based carrier, announced on August 31, 2023, that it would operate four weekly direct flights to Mombasa from January 17, 2024, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The airline becomes the first national carrier to operate direct flights from Dubai and the UAE to the coastal city as it focuses on growing its African network.

The launch of the direct flight to Mombasa moves the carrier's destinations to Africa to 11 in 10 countries.

These include Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Asmara, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Entebbe, Hargeisa, Juba, Mogadishu and Zanzibar. 

While announcing the plans to expand its networks in the continent on August 31, 2023, the airline said the flights would operate from Terminal 3, Dubai International (DXB).

"We remain committed to opening up underserved markets and supporting Dubai’s aviation hub. Our direct flights to Mombasa from January and our growing operations in Africa will further support free flows of trade and tourism between the UAE and the East African markets," CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said.

The airline said it was banking on the potential in the African markets to grow its presence in the continent with more fleets in the coming years.

"We look forward to the start of our four-times-weekly service to Mombasa and to increasing the frequency to the market in the future,” Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Sudhir Sreedharan said. 

Since commencing operations in June 2009, flydubai has created a network of more than 120 destinations served by a fleet of over 80 aircraft.